Stars Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles

Molly Ringwald Passed on 'Ghost' and 'Pretty Woman'

Poor Molly Ringwald turned down two classic films: "Ghost" and "Pretty Woman." The "Ghost" role went to Demi Moore, while the "Pretty Woman" role was played by Julia Roberts. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Al Pacino has had a wildly successful career, but even he has made some mistakes. The actor recently revealed during a sit-down at the Palladium in London that he passed on the role of Han Solo in "Star Wars" because he "didn't understand the script." The part helped catapult Harrison Ford's career.

Pacino also rejected the part of John McClane in "Die Hard," which turned a then-unknown Bruce Willis into an action superstar. "I gave that boy a career," Pacino said. "I'm not a very good judge of what's good." —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

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Ryan Phillipe turned down the role of teenaged Anakin Skywalker in the second (or first?) "Star Wars" trilogy. The role instead went to Hayden Christensen, who received a great deal of criticism for his lackluster performance. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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In addition to passing on Han Solo, Nick Nolte also passed up the chance to play Indiana Jones in the film series of the same name. Once again, Harrison Ford picked up the pieces. But as you can see by the photo, Nolte might not have been a bad choice. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

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Richard Gere, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds and Arnold Schwarzenegger turned down the role of John McClane in the "Die Hard" series. The part went to Bruce Willis, who went on to became one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos by Getty Images)

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In an interview with Newsweek, actor Nic Cage revealed that he was offered the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but turned the part down.

"There were different things going on in my life at the time that precluded me from being able to travel and be away from home for three years," Cage told Newsweek, adding that not being in the trilogy has allowed him to enjoy it as a fan, since he doesn't watch his own movies.

The role of Aragorn eventually went to actor Viggo Mortensen. Cage also famously rejected the lead role of Neo in "The Matrix" series. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

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Following the massive success of the 2001 films "Pearl Harbor" and "Black Hawk Down," Josh Hartnett was one of Hollywood's hottest commodities. The heartthrob recently revealed that he turned down playing three of the world's best known characters—Batman, Superman and Spider-Man.

It's a move he regrets "I've definitely said no to some of the wrong people...I learned my lesson when (writer and director) Christopher Nolan and I talked about Batman. I decided it wasn't for me." Now older and wiser, Hartnett adds "I know now that I wouldn't turn something down just because it's a superhero role."

Over the past decade, Hartnett has mainly appeared in small independent films. He currently stars on the small screen in the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful."—XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "The Good Wife" star Julianna Margulies revealed that she wasn't the first choice to play the CBS series' leading lady.

"When 'The Good Wife' came to me, it came in such a backhanded compliment," Margulies said. "'Ashley Judd was offered this script, but she's turning it down. Now, I'm going to give it to you, but first, we're going to Helen Hunt. And if Helen Hunt passes, it's all yours.'"

The runaround almost caused Margulies to turn down the role as well, but she obviously knew a good thing when she saw it. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frederick M. Brown, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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"Sons of Anarchy" star Charlie Hunnam appeared to have landed the role of a lifetime when he was cast as the lead in the film adaptation of author E.L. James' wildly popular book series "Fifty Shades of Grey." Shockingly, Hunnam withdrew from the film one month later and claimed the movie's schedule would interfere with filming his FX series. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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In her book, "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down," the former "American Idol" contestant confessed she was offered the lead role in Lee Daniels' critically acclaimed 2009 film "Precious," but turned down the part.

"I had [gained weight] with Effie [in 'Dreamgirls']," she wrote. "And as much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight."

The title role went to actress Gabourey Sidibe instead, and her performance earned an Oscar nomination. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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According to Us magazine, Aussie hunk Hugh Jackman was once in the running for the coveted role of James Bond. "I got a call from my agent saying, 'There is some possible interest in you for Bond. Are you interested?,'" Jackman revealed. "At the time, I wasn't."

He went on to explain that he was concerned about playing two iconic characters—Bond and Wolverine in "X-Men"—at the same time. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: AP)

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The "Bourne" star revealed he was originally offered the role of Jake Sully in James Cameron's Oscar-winning film, but had to turn it down.

"I talked to Cameron and I read the script and I knew the movie was gonna be a big hit," he said. "I really wanted to do 'Avatar' and work with Jim Cameron and watch him direct and learn a lot... but we were finishing 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and I couldn't leave; it was a scheduling issue." —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Claire Danes turned down the role of Rose (and the opportunity to make out with Leonardo DiCaprio again) in James Cameron's epic "Titanic." Kate Winslet earned an Oscar nomination playing the part instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

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Sir Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf the Grey in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy because he reportedly "didn't understand it." Sir Ian McKellen understood the part and tackled the famed role instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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Bill Murray turned down the role of suicidal, gay uncle Frank Ginsberg in the 2006 Oscar darling "Little Miss Sunshine." Robin Williams was also considered for the part. In the end, the role went to funnyman Steve Carell. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Both Kate Winslet and Julia Roberts turned down the role of Viola de Lesseps in "Shakespeare In Love." Roberts rejected the project after Daniel Day-Lewis declined to play the part of Shakespeare. Gwyneth Paltrow ended up playing Viola and took home the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos by Getty Images)

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British actress Samantha Morton turned down the role of Lisa in "Girl, Interrupted." The role ended up winning Angelina Jolie a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Sean Penn turned down the role of Tyler Durden in the cult-classic flick "Fight Club." Brad Pitt ended up winning the part and totally nailed the role. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

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Poor Molly Ringwald turned down two classic films: "Ghost" and "Pretty Woman." The "Ghost" role went to Demi Moore, while the "Pretty Woman" role was played by Julia Roberts. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens turned down the role of Gozer in "Ghostbusters." The part was instead played by Yugoslav model Slavitza Jovan. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Angelina Jolie turned down the role of Alex Munday in the 2000 film "Charlie's Angels." Not that that was necessarily a mistake. The role was later filled by Lucy Liu. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

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Actually, O.J. Simpson was considered and passed over for the role of the title character because producers believed he wouldn't be taken seriously as a killer. Go figure. The role made Arnold Schwarzenegger an international superstar instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Issac Brekken/Getty Images)

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Halle Berry turned down the lead role of Annie (and a starring role oppositie uber-thespian Keanu Reeves) in 1994's "Speed." The part went to Sandra Bullock instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Russell Crowe was director Bryan Singer's first choice to play Wolverine in his 2000 film "X-Men." Hugh Jackman played the part instead and became massively famous. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

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Mel Gibson turned down the lead role of Maximus in "Gladiator." Russell Crowe won a Best Actor Oscar for the role instead. And became a huge star. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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"Twilight" hunk Rob Pattinson passed on the role of Eli in the Academy Award-winning Daniel Day-Lewis film "There Will Be Blood." The part went to Paul Dano instead. Pattinson also turned down a role in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

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Sean Connery, Samuel L. Jackson and Russell Crowe all passed on the chance to play Morpheus in the "Matrix" trilogy. The role was played by Laurence Fishburne instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos by Getty Images)

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Melanie Griffith turned down the role of Thelma in the 1991 film "Thelma and Louise." Geena Davis starred in the film instead, opposite Susan Sarandon. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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Will Smith was originally offered the starring role of Neo in the highly-successful "Matrix" trilogy. The kicker? He turned down the part to star in "Wild Wild West." The role was filled by Keanu Reeves instead. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Sandy Young/Getty Images)

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Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in "Back To The Future." The actor even filmed six weeks-worth of the movie before director Robert Zemeckis decided that he was unhappy with Stoltz's unfunny approach to the character. Stoltz was soon replaced by Michael J. Fox. The rest is cinematic history. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.